MINNESOTA UNITED FC GAMEDAY
8 p.m. at Austin FC * BSN+, CW Twin Cities, AM-1500
Loons update: Starters Robin Lod, Romain Metanire and Michael Boxall all were back in Blaine by Thursday after national team duty took them everywhere from Bahrain to Kazakhstan and across Africa. They missed Sunday's 3-1 home loss to Colorado. "It's never ideal, but fortunately they've all come back fit and healthy,'' Loons coach Adrian Heath said. "All of the team will be available, which is the most important thing." ... Reserves Jukka Raitala and Dayne St. Clair are back, too.
Notable: The 10-10-8 Loons are 2-6-6 away from Allianz Field while 7-17-4 Austin FC is 5-7-2 at home. The teams have met twice already in Austin FC's inaugural season, both of them at Allianz Field. The Loons won 1-0 in May and 2-0 in June. ... Loons left-side attacker Franco Fragapane's eight assists this season are 0.72 per 90 minutes, second in MLS behind New England's Carles Gil (0.76). … Saturday's game is the Loons' first visit to expansion Austin FC's new Q2 Stadium, a 20,500-seat, soccer-specific venue. … Weather forecast at kickoff is partly cloudy and 63, cool for Texas even in October.
Injuries: Loons F Juan Agudelo is listed as questionable with an ankle/foot injury after he was kicked during training on Wednesday. F Justin McMaster (thigh is listed as out). Austin FC lists defenders Ben Sweat (ACL) and Matt Besler (concussion), midfielder Ulises Segura (knee) and forwards Aaron Schoenfeld (knee) and Danny Hoesen (hip) as out. Schoenfeld played for the Loons last season.
